Small-medium enterprises and innovative startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems: exploring an under-remarked relation
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Small-medium enterprises and innovative startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems: exploring an under-remarked relation Angelo Cavallo 1
& Antonio
Ghezzi 1 & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra 1
Accepted: 11 September 2020/ # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract To date, contributions in the field of entrepreneurial ecosystems have mainly focused on definitions, actors, key attributes, consequences on startups’ creation and growth, while conceding less space to key relations among actors. This study contributes to filling this gap by exploring the relation in entrepreneurial ecosystems between smallmedium enterprises and a relevant class of startups: innovative startups. We take stock of extant knowledge to discuss the challenges and benefits of this relation. Then, we document that innovative startups tend to locate within Italian industrial districts, a peculiar case of entrepreneurial ecosystems where Italian small-medium enterprises tend to agglomerate, despite there is no evidence that they operate in the same industry of specialization of the Italian industrial districts. We interpret these results as a possible indication that innovative startups value the relation with small-medium enterprises. We provide an original review and illustrative evidence on small-medium enterprises and startups relations as few studies have done so far. Finally, the study presents a research agenda for stimulating novel directions for academic research and practiceoriented conversations on the role of small-medium enterprises and innovative startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems. We deem this is a relevant topic, given the importance of these relations, especially within entrepreneurial ecosystems located in countries where small-medium enterprises (often operating in traditional industries) are the main engine of local and regional development. Keywords Entrepreneurship . Small-medium enterprises . Startups . Entrepreneurial
ecosystem
* Angelo Cavallo [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal
Introduction Scholars define entrepreneurial ecosystems (hereafter: EEs) as “sets of interdependent actors and factors coordinated in such a way that they enable productive entrepreneurship within a particular territory” (Stam 2015, p. 5). The concept roots in the regional development and strategy literature (Yun et al. 2017; Erina et al. 2017) and emphasizes that entrepreneurship happens in a community of individuals, organizations, and regulatory bodies rooted in a territory (Freeman and Audia 2006; Isenberg 2010; Malecki 2011; Acs et al. 2017; Kuratko et al. 2017). Several scholars conceive EEs as complex and “evolving” dynamic systems (Acs et al. 2014; Isenberg 2010; Spigel 2017; Dubina et al. 2017; Cavallo et al. 2019a). Along this line of reasoning, Neumeyer et al. (2017) examine EEs as complex social organizations employing social network data analysis; other researchers introduce system dynamics and simulation methodologies in EE research (
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